All cities have parklands, so what makes Adelaide different? It is our unique inheritance of a well-planned city, supposedly 'one mile square', with wide streets, large public squares, a river dividing the main city core from an attractive, elevated residential section to the north; and all surrounded by parklands, originally 930 hectares, now down around 700 hectares and shrinking through ad hoc decision-making, though still very substantial.

These Park Lands were also the first public park in the world. Before Adelaide’s establishment in 1837, the only Parks that existed anywhere in the world were reserved for royalty, and private, wealthy land owners. It was a radical initiative to create a planned city with Park Lands for all.